Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This appealed to me in on so many levels. I really liked the sound of the concept and loved the executing. I've grown up with a show similar to the one in the novel and reading about it was just so fun. The characters were enjoyable and the romance sweet, The humor was top notch and everything was just my taste. A perfect summer novel.

The novel is about a group of Americans with Swedish heritage who have ‘won’ places to take part in a reality show filmed in Sweden with the prize being to meet their Swedish family. It’s a new take on a popular subject of stories based on reality TV and I was interested in reading it based on the premise and setting. I particularly enjoyed the mention of a hotel that I have stayed in myself in Stockholm!

The pace is good and I was interested in the descriptions of Sweden. The only reason I awarded this book four stars, rather than five, is because I found it difficult to relate to the protagonist (almost certainly a very personal thing, which should not deter other readers from giving the book a try).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of Big in Sweden in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Sally Franson, Mariner Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book.

As someone who’s recently hit 1200 days straight learning Swedish on Duolingo, and my love of trashy reality TV - this book seemed right up my alley! It centres around an American woman who’s invited on a trip to find her family in Sweden, in an Amazing Race x Find my Family-esque show.

Unfortunately, this one just didn’t hit the mark for me. While it had moments of real wisdom - critiquing things like both American and Swedish society, the reaction to emotion depending on gender, and the way reality tv is created - it just didn’t land for me. And it does lean on stereotypes quite a bit. The main character Paulie seemed to be quite immature for a woman in her early/mid thirties, and she came across very judgmental and having a bit of a victim complex. And I just don’t think I can forgive her behaviour with Lars…

But the prose is well written and you can tell that the author has taken the time and care to research a lot of the locations she described. So if you’re planning a trip to Sweden soon, this book could be the perfect taste test!

Grab this one or any of the author’s books at curl up and enjoy the wild ride. You won’t be disappointed.
It makes a change to read a book that makes you feel good and is entertaining ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a fun, sweet book - perfect for summer reading. I was captivated by the Scandinavian setting and I really liked the premise, as Paulie one night spontaneously signs up to compete on a Swedish reality TV show with a prize for the winner to meet their Swedish family. I really liked her slightly chaotic personality and enjoyed her character arc of self discovery and wider exploration of human connection and what it means to be family. A heartwarming story - perfect choice for an escapist beach read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.